Konami Admits PES Successor eFootball Will Effectively Be a Demo at Launch

PES successor eFootball will be just about as bare bones as you can imagine when it kicks off later this year, featuring just nine licensed teams and basic exhibition matches. The free-to-play title will expand with paid modes like Master League at a later date, but there’s currently no date attached to them. Many fans have pointed out that it all sounds a lot like a demo at launch.

Konami agrees: “In many ways, yes [it is a demo]. We want people to get hands-on with eFootball as soon as possible, so we will launch with a limited number of teams and modes. Exact details to follow.” The Japanese publisher went on to clarify that there will be no microtransactions at launch: just the aforementioned exhibition matches for now.

In fact, it sounds like eFootball may not be as egregious with virtual currency as its predecessors in its as-of-yet-unannounced team building mode: “Previous games had a strong ‘lottery element’, but eFootball lets you nominate and acquire your favourite players with Match Pass, a system to receive items based on matches played. Free & Paid Match Passes will be available.”

So, it sounds like the title’s MyClub successor will leverage a Battle Pass system, as opposed to loot boxes disguised as Special Agents. To be honest, we can’t imagine any of this performing particularly well for Konami, but we can only assume the publisher has done its homework. Will you be giving eFootball a shot when it launches in early autumn?